En Vogue

En Vogue

En Vogue is an American female vocal group from Oakland, United States. The group forms in 1988 and is active from that point to the present. Its best-known core lineup includes Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones, with later membership changes that include Amanda Cole, Rhona Bennett and, in the verified membership list, Amanda Jones and Rhona.

Albums and singles

The group’s debut album, Born to Sing, appears in 1990 and includes “Hold On,” which reaches number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. Their second album, Funky Divas, appears in 1992 and reaches the top 10 in both the US and the UK. Its singles include “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” “Free Your Mind” and “Riddle”; “My Lovin’” also reaches number two in the US.

In 1996, “Don’t Let Go (Love)” becomes their most successful single, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US R&B chart. The song gives the group its sixth number one on that chart. Their third album, EV3, appears after Dawn Robinson leaves in 1997 and reaches the top 10 in both the US and the UK. Later, Maxine Jones leaves in 2001, Amanda Cole joins, Cole departs in 2003, and Rhona Bennett joins during the recording of Soul Flower.

Line-up changes and reunions

The original members briefly reunite in 2005 and again in 2009 for the En Vogue: 20th Anniversary tour. After that tour, Robinson and Jones leave again and Bennett rejoins, with the group continuing as a trio.

Recognition

En Vogue holds the record for the most number-one singles on the US R&B chart by a female group, behind only the Supremes. The group sells approximately 20 million records worldwide. It receives seven MTV Video Music Awards, three Soul Train Awards, two American Music Awards and seven Grammy nominations. It is also the only female group to win the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year.

Billboard ranks En Vogue as the 19th most successful recording artist of the 1990s and the second most successful female group of that decade in December 1999. In 2015, Billboard names the group the ninth most successful girl group of all time. Billboard also places “Don’t Let Go (Love)” and “Hold On” among its most successful girl group songs, at 12th and 23rd respectively, and ranks En Vogue as the third most successful female R&B group of the past 25 years, after TLC and Destiny’s Child, and the seventh most successful group overall.